Kilcock () is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. One of the fastest growing towns in the country, its population of 8,674 makes it the seventh largest town in County Kildare and 61st largest in Ireland. The town is located west of Dublin, and is on the Royal Canal.
Local industries include a large Musgrave Group distribution centre, which supplies SuperValu and Centra stores across much of the country.
History
Kilcock takes its name from the 6th century Saint Coca who founded a church beside the Rye River, a major tributary of the River Liffey. The saint is traditionally said to have been a sister of St. Kevin of Glendalough; by occupation, she was an embroiderer of church vestments, including those for St. Colmcille. A holy well dedicated to Coca, formerly thought to be lost in the back-yards of Kilcock, is believed locally to be in the area behind the Permanent TSB building, and her feast is remembered on 6 June. However, this commemoration is a modern revival as when the Ordnance Survey of the area was being made in 1837 it was recorded that "there is no old church in ruins in this parish nor is any patron saint or day remembered... the meaning of the name Cille Choc is not remembered." When the present parish church was dedicated in 1867 it was named for St. Coca, and it had cost £10,000 to build to the design of architect J.J. McCarthy.
In the 8th century, there was a battle between rival kings near the church of St. Coca, then in the territory of Carbury and close to the border between Leinster and Meath. There is a gap of several hundred years until the next reference to Kilcock when, in 1303, it belonged to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem at Kilmainham.
In the 17th century, markets and fairs were held regularly in Kilcock. The tolls and duties of Kilcock Fairs were shared between the Wogans of Rathcoffey and the Eustaces of Castlemartin, Kilcullen, County Kildare. Kilcock had 70 acres (28 ha) of common land to which several inhabitants had a common right. There was also a Commons at Courtown (Bawnogue & Duncreevan) and Laragh Commons.
The markets in Kilcock were probably the largest in North Kildare. A measure of oats in those times was referred to as a "Kilcock Measure."
Transport
The M4 motorway opened in 1994 and bypasses Kilcock to the south of the town. The motorway connects Dublin to the west of the country. There is an NRA plan to create an outer orbital motorway, which would extend 80 km from Naas to Drogheda, via Kilcock.
Bus Éireann has route 115 and 115A (Summerhill) running from Dublin to Mullingar passing through Kilcock.
The railway arrived in Kilcock on 28 June 1847, but the station closed on 1 July 1848, as it was sited on a 1% (1 in 100) gradient which the locomotives of the day found difficult to start off from. This site was slightly east of the current Kilcock station. A replacement station opened in 1850 west of the town, where the old N4 crosses the Royal Canal and railway, but closed in 1963. The current Kilcock railway station, under Shaw Bridge, opened in 1998.
, there was construction underway by the county council to pave a pedestrian path along the riverbank, giving cyclists and walkers a safer route to traverse into surrounding areas such as Maynooth without having to venture onto the main road.
Education
Kilcock has three primary schools: Scoil Chóca Naofa, St. Joseph's BNS (which since September 2016 changed from single-sex schools to mixed schools and both schools are linked with each other), and Gaelscoil Uí Riada (an all-Irish school). The latter is located beside the Bánóg on the outskirts of the village.
Kilcock is also home to the secondary school Scoil Dara. Located on Church Street, it accommodates over 900 students from Kilcock and surrounding areas including Donadea, Summerhill, Enfield, Moynalvey and Mulhussey.
Places of interest
The town's library features mementos of the poet Teresa Brayton who was born in Kilbrook. The Old Bog Road, 4.5 km west of the town, was the subject of one of her verses. It was set to music by Madeline King O'Farrelly and recorded by artists including Eileen Donaghy, Josef Locke, Johnny McEvoy, Hank Locklin, Finbar Furey, Daniel O'Donnell, Anthony Kearns and Finbar Wright.
There is also the old manor where Lady Catherine McCormack was born in the 1800s.